Mileage Log & Expense Reimbursement Tracker, 2026 IRS Rate by Trip Date, July 76 Cent Update, Employee Claim Form | Google Sheets Excel

Seller's description

Updated for the IRS mid-year change: trips before July 1, 2026 get 72.5 cents a mile and trips from July 1 get 76 cents, picked automatically by trip date.
This mileage log and business expense tracker helps you pay employees back correctly. It applies the IRS rate in effect on each trip date. It runs claims, approvals and advances. Each line is checked against IRS accountable-plan rules. You see what is non-taxable and what goes through payroll. A printable claim form and a written reimbursement policy are included. It works in Google Sheets and Excel.

WHAT'S INCLUDED
1. Mileage + Expense Reimbursement workbook (Excel + Google Sheets), 10 tabs:
- Setup: IRS rate or your own company rate, your policy deadlines, your receipt amount, and up to 20 people (employees and a self-employed owner).
- Rates: IRS business, medical and charity rates by start date (2024, 2025, and 2026 including the July 1, 2026 change to 76 cents). Add a row when the IRS announces a new rate. Nothing is typed into formulas.
- Trip Log (500 trips): odometer or typed miles, round trips, and Business / Commute / Personal / Medical / Charity. The Check column flags missing purposes, odometers that go backwards or overlap, commutes on a claim, and late claims.
- Expenses (300): receipt rules (lodging always, anything at or above your amount) and lost-receipt flags.
- Advances (50): what's accounted for, what's left, the return-by date, and when the rest becomes wages.
- Claims (100): totals, the taxable vs non-taxable split, lines to review, pay-by date and status (Paid, Approved, Waiting, Pay overdue).
- Claim Form: pick a claim and print one page with signature lines.
- Year Summary: by person and month, with taxable excess, the W-2 box 12 code L amount, late-claim wages, and Schedule C Part IV / line 9 numbers for the owner.
- State Rules + Sources: the federal rules plus California, Illinois and New Hampshire notes, with links to the official pages.
2. Mileage + Expense Reimbursement Policy (Word + Google Docs): plain-English policy sections, a policy acknowledgment and a Lost Receipt Statement. Yellow [PLACEHOLDERS] match your Setup choices.
3. Start Here PDF with your 2 Google copy links.

TESTED
24 automated tests check every calculation against an independent model. A boundary test checks 12/31/2025, 1/1/2026, 6/30/2026, 7/1/2026 and 12/31/2026 one by one, plus medical and charity rates and company-rate mode. They include the 2026 mid-year rate change, late claims, advances, an Illinois-style policy, a 2027 rate added later, and a full file of 500 trips and 100 claims. Google Sheets matched the Excel version cell by cell (2,041 cells, 0 differences).

HOW TO GET IT
1. After you buy, go to your Etsy account > Purchases and download the zip. Etsy also emails you a link.
2. Open Mileage-Reimbursement-START-HERE.pdf. Click each link and choose "Make a copy" for Google, or open the files in Excel and Word.
3. Look at the sample, clear it, fill in Setup and start logging.

GOOD TO KNOW, PLEASE READ
- Not tax or legal advice. The rules summarized come from IRS and state pages cited in the file (checked October 2026). Ask your accountant about your reimbursement plan, and check your state's law.
- The workbook works out the payroll amounts but doesn't run payroll or file anything.
- It's a spreadsheet, so there's no GPS auto-tracking. One vehicle per person (for more, list the person twice). It doesn't handle actual car costs (gas, depreciation), per diem rates, kilometres or foreign currency.
- U.S.-focused. Compatible with Google Sheets / Docs (free Google account) and Excel / Word 2010 or newer, on Windows or Mac. Not designed for Apple Numbers.
- This is a digital download. Nothing physical will be shipped. Because it's a digital file, returns aren't accepted. If something isn't working, send me a message and I'll help.
- For your own business use. Please don't resell or share the files or links.

HOW THIS WAS MADE
I designed this tracker with help from AI tools, which assisted with the formulas, layout and first draft of the policy text. I chose the features after comparing the mileage templates already available. I checked the rules against the IRS and state pages cited in the file, and tested every calculation against an independent check (24 tests) before listing.